No Change & Things I've Done...

No change in the losing weight this week, but I did stumble upon an interesting fact this last week while I was perusing through old journals. I now weigh the same as what I did when I started working my current job almost 8 years ago. Depending on how you look at it, that could be a good thing or a lot of work to get back to the same place you were at one time. I personally think it’s a good thing because everyone else I work in the office with has slowly gained over the years. I feel in my own right I’m fighting against that nasty secretary’s spread that I could be susceptible to normally in my employment position. Oh, the risks of being a glorified secretary!




I’ve been brainstorming about a bucket list this last week. I, of course, got online and did a bit of research to get some ideas. I’ve been amazed by how many websites are based on or about bucket lists. I was almost overwhelmed by all the ideas I got. I ended up with about 3 chicken scratched pages of ideas that I wrote down. I want to narrow them down and organize them some what before I display them here. I’m thinking within the next week or so I’ll have something displayed here.


But what I also found rather interesting while I was going over all these bucket lists were all the things that I’ve done or tried in my life. I really have managed to live and find the joy in my life for the most part. Here’s a quick list of 25 that I put together…(I'm not living a fish bowl that's for sure)


Things I’ve done that might be on a Bucket List

1. Running- 5K, 10K, half marathon’s

2. Cycling- Metric Centuries and whole Centuries (8 Centuries in one year)

3. 70.3 Iron Man (Noncompetitive Slow Salty Dog Tri)

4. Water skiing

5. Sailing

6. Backpacking expedition

7. Yurting

8. Bungee Jumping

9. Rode in a helicopter

10. Indoor Skydiving (a surprise birthday present!)

11. Been part of a hockey fight (I would not recommend.)

12. Eaten caviar (Not impressed with it!)

13. Got hypnotized (I don’t remember the stupid stuff I did!)

14. Milked a cow (Look out 8 Maids-a-milking!)

15. Spent a night in a hostel (and LIVED!)

16. Crashed a party(s) - (I was an Olympian in college at this!)

17. Thrown a surprise party and had it actually be a surprise

18. Jumped in a pool with my clothes on

19. Learned (sort of) belly dancing (took classes for almost a year)

20. Done karaoke
(One step up- Kamikaze Style- my friends chose the songs and surprise you are singing this!)

21. Held Art shows of my art (private & at a friend’s studio)

22. Sold some of my art (which I think is pretty cool!)

23. Tried Yoga (some may remember this post- BOOT CAMP Day 11)

24. Spur of the moment road trip- to have lunch with a friend (drove 4 hours each way to & fro)

25. Gone places---

Pikes Place Market in Seattle
Vegas Strip
Disneyland
Disney World
Universal Studios
Magnificent Mile in Chicago
Sears Tower in Chicago
Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago
(among other hi-lights of Chicago)
Redwood National Forest
Crater Lake
oh and ...
Yuma, Arizona's International Airport with it's 3 outdoor gates!

An Update & Prelim Bucket Listing...

Good news to share with the update which is surprising considering it’s been a couple of weeks since my last update. I was on vacation last week and was basically away from the blogsphere of the world. I got on the scale this morning and was really amazed. I’m down (drum roll, please!) a total of 22 lbs. as of this morning. Yeah!!



BUT I will admit that yesterday I DID work out what would be considered by some as being excessive. I woke up very early and decided to go for a 3 mile speed walk/run at my local favorite park. Then, I biked into work with a backpack of gear that weigh at least 15 lbs. After work, I biked over to the start of my normal Thursday evening Bike & Brew ride. I thankfully was able to stow my backpack in another bike club member’s car while I rode the 23 mile ride. I ended up having to change a flat tire with 2 miles left on the ride. Not fun at all! Then, I claimed my backpack and biked for home. I totaled 34 miles on the bike for the day.

Last night, I watched the 2007 movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Sometimes, I admit I find it amusing that a movie with two older male actors has created somewhat of a phenomenon. Bucket Lists have sprouted everywhere and have become a common theme in quite a few of people’s lives. Then, here is me Ms. List and I don’t have a bucket list.

Part of the reason I always thought was that I don’t want to have a life that’s planned out with goals and things to do. I like having an open-ness to life and feel that life is an adventure. Some of my best remembered moments have been totally unplanned; me just going along for the ride. Sometimes it has been rather hairy but overall it’s been very fulfilling. I’ve done quite a few things that have been on other people’s bucket list. I done half marathons, tri's, indoor skydiving, all kinds of cycling, and various other things.  To sound a bit like a Nike commercial but quite often I just do it and quite often its not planned through as well as it could have been.  For example, the Slow Salty Dog Tri that I did two years ago with only about 2 months worth of training.  OUCH!


But I’m thinking as of late that I could maybe open myself up to doing part of a list. Part of it has been my recent trip to Helena, MT. It has opened my eyes up a bit. There are places I would love to explore a little more if I had the time and there are experiences that I wouldn’t mind having.

Off the top of my head, I have always wanted to see a Cirque Du Soleil show in Vegas but I look at the ticket price and question myself. I also have always thought it would be a wonderful experience to bike the road that goes around Crater Lake. They are not big things and if I really sat down I’m sure I could come up with some more. Maybe I’ll think about this for a little while and come up with my own bucket list. I might even share it.

Vacation & One Helena of a Ride...

I've been off in Big Sky Country  of Montana this last week.  The main purpose of the trip up there was the Helena 100 Bike ride but I went up a day earlier and did a bit of site seeing of the Helena area.  Here's some photos from my trip... First we took the Helena Train tour.  Julia, a fellow cycling club member, also came up from Salt Lake early to do some site seeing.



Julia & I on a Helena mini train tour.

 




One of several older mansions that are in Helena.  At one time, Helena had the highest per capita Millionaires.





Another mansion that was along the train ride's route.



Rode the train through Helena Scenic downtown.



Outdoor cafes with leaning bikes were a common scene.

I took a drive later on that day out to 2 of the lakes outside Helena; a mear ten mile scenic drive in the car.





Then Saturday came and it was riding time!  A BEAUTIFUL ride along the upper Missouri River.

Janet, Patty, Jay,& I-- No, I didn't get the memo about the jersey choice!

 

A FANTASTIC Alpine Loop Bike Ride!

It was a beautiful day for riding the Alpine Loop.  The weather ended up being in the low-80's and just a few fluffy clouds that came out towards the end of the ride.  About 20 fellow cyclist came out to join me for the climb fest and it was a climb.  From the start to the summit and over to Cascade Springs and back, it ended up being about 4300 feet of climbing within 40 cycling miles.  It was a work out but the views all made it worth it~!  Here's some pictures I took along the way...

The view at the first hair pin turn about 2/3 of the way up.





About 1/4 mile before the Summit of the Alpine Loop.

 

The Summit with the elevation-- 8060 ft!

A pair of fellow cyclists almost to Summit; talk about sharing the road.  These are narrow!

The view of the road going towards Cascade Springs.

Having Lunch at the overlook point near Cascade Springs.

The AMAZING view while having lunch at the overlook point!

Up, Apline Loop, & Cat Sitting...

I grimaced a bit at the scale this morning. It said I was up 1 lb which brings me back to a total weight loss of 19 lbs. I was disappointed because I managed to bike 125 miles this week and I thought I would be down with THAT much cycling. But maybe I need to get out them running shoes too. I do notice that when I run I’m more likely to lose weight. But cycling can be a good calorie burning exercise too and I have been pushing myself to perform a bit better each time I do a climbing ride.



The main problem with my cycling is that most of those rides occur right after work in the evening. Then on the way home I usually grab something to eat. It’s the combo of eating late and eating quick fast food that’s not good. The problems are that I don’t have the time to eat before the bike ride and most times my stomach gets upset if I try to workout right after eating. It’s a catch 22 situation. I really wish I liked salads more that would totally be the solution. I have been forgoing the fast food combos with the French fries. I love going to Wendy’s and ordering the mandarin oranges instead of having fries.


This weekend if Sunday’s weather holds out to be nice and there’s no mudslide on the roads, I’ll be leading an Alpine Loop Bicycle ride. It is some of the most beautiful cycling country with a water stop at Cascade Springs Nature area and a turn around at Sundance. I will say there’s a great deal of climbing on the ride but its worth it and I’ve designed the route so that if its too much for my fellow cyclists they can always turn around and head back down.  I'll take my camera with me and share some photos with you.

Also, this weekend I’m doing a bit of cat sitting; a pair of calico kitties. This is the second time in two months that I’ve been a cat sitter. It’s kind of been fun in that I have the benefit of enjoying being with a pet(s) without any true ownership. Its also nice staying at someone else's place.  It's like a mini-vacation.  Bonus! Have a wonderful weekend!